Xiaomi Mi A1 64GB

Xiaomi joins Google's Android One with the Mi A1

Xiaomi joins Google's Android One with the Mi A1 Did you forget about the Android One initiative? Xiaomi's inexpensive new phone, with its rear cameras and surprisingly powerful CPU, is here to remind you.

Xiaomi Mi A1 review

We're big fans of Xiaomi phones, but have been frustrated by MIUI on many an occasion. The Mi A1 and Mi 5X are to all intents and purposes the same phone, except one runs Android One and the other MIUI 8.5. That's huge news: at last we have a Xiaomi phone we can really get onboard with in the UK and Europe. The Mi A1 itself is a well-built and decent all-round mid-range Android phone. It's not the fastest phone we've ever seen, and its low-light photography can be faulted. It lacks wireless charging, a futuristic full-screen display, a Quad-HD resolution, waterproofing, even NFC. But at around £200 it offers amazing value, with good performance, a good camera, a nice design and decent software with timely security updates. If you're on a budget, it's difficult to think of a similarly priced phone that will do a better job.